The Growth of a Valuable Resource
In the 1930’s, the Bureau of Public Roads’ direct Federal construction program in the Federal domain greatly expanded. The onset of the Great Depression prompted Congress to enact legislation expanding public works construction, including funds for roads and trails in the national forests and national parks.
For example, the regular forest highway fund authorizations under section 23 of the Federal Highway Act during the period 1921–1929 totaled $58 million, whereas in the period 1930–1939, these funds totaled $93 million. In addition, under the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 and several emergency relief and construction acts, $43 million in additional funds were authorized and appropriated for forest highways and development roads and trails. Of the total funds, $95 million were expended on forest highways and $40 million were expended on forest development roads and trails during this period.
By 1940, the original national forest lands had been increased by more than 17 million acres, purchased under the Weeks Act passed by Congress in 1911 and amended in 1924, which authorized the purchase of forest lands to protect the navigability of streams, and to help perpetuate the country’s water supply. All the original national forests were taken from the public domain lands in the West. By 1940, there were 2 national forests in Alaska, 1 in Puerto Rico, and 158 in 36 States.
While in 1930 there were only 65 miles of forest highways with a bituminous surface, by 1939 there were about 1,670 miles of surfaced roads that had some form of bituminous surfacing or paving.[1]
The improvement of the Nation’s highway transportation system was making the national forest areas increasingly accessible and contributed to their becoming a great national resource. In addition to the production of saw timber, the national forests provided a water source for cities, towns, farm irrigation, and hydroelectric power; grazing land for cattle, sheep and horses; protection for wildlife; mining resources; and recreation areas. In 1931, there were 8 million visits by people who used the national forests for camping and other forms of recreation.[2] In 1939, 14.5 million people visited the national forests.[3]
Postwar Developments on the Forest Highways
The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1944 authorized for each of the first 3 postwar years, $25 million for forest highways, $4.3 million for highways in national parks, and $10 million for parkways. By concurrent resolution of Congress, the first postwar fiscal year was determined to be the 1946 fiscal year.
During the war, timber was cut from commercial stands on such a scale that the supply was nearly exhausted. In developing the postwar national housing program, it became imperative to use the timber resources of the national forests. This resulted in an immediate demand for timber access roads.
At the same time, it was recognized that many forest highways on the Federal-aid and State highway systems constructed in the earlier years needed modernization to provide an adequate level of service for the increasing traffic volume. However, the scarcity of materials and supplies and the high national priority assigned to building houses affected the resumption of the forest highway program.
A directive from the Office of War Mobilization, issued on August 5, 1946, restricted the award of contracts for construction in Federal areas to improvements needed for the production of lumber in order to conserve the use of materials needed for the expanding housing program. The President limited expenditures for forest highways during fiscal year 1946 to $12.5 million.
Wind Cave-Deadwood and Sylvan Lake Road in S. Dakota with a new railroad bridge crossing over the forest highway.
Work on the forest highways on the Federal-Aid Primary Highway System had ceased in 1942, and little had been done to repair surface damage during the war years. Hauling logs and timber had left a deep imprint on many miles of main forest highways.
